[Almeera]

So I had a suspected mastitis (mammary gland infection) that went away with antibiotics... but now the pain & soreness have returned. My doc says that this will go on for a month at least - she recommended a mammography (which I already had done - nothing to worry about) and told me to avoid straining or hitting the area, and bras that are too tight. I did all that but it's still uncomfortable or even painful sometimes.... anyone else dealt with this in the past? Anything I can do to alleviate the pain? (I wear size E cups, BTW... that's not helping either, I have to wear a sports bra all the time because otherwise the weight alone is painful).

[hamster-bamster]

Are you nursing or not? If you are nursing, the best thing is to nurse as much as possible and to always offer the affected breast to the baby first.

[Almeera]

I'm not nursing. (I wish I had a baby to nurse... ♥ )

[hamster-bamster]

I did not realize it were possible to have mastitis outside of nursing. I know that my late grandmother had horrible mastitis with her first daughter (my aunt), and a surgeon injected anesthetic into the breast area, and that totally cleared the pain.
Novocain Official FDA information, side effects and uses.

I do not know whether this is done these days - she had it done in 1940 - but I know that it helped immensely and immediately.

Originally Posted by Almeera

So I had a suspected mastitis (mammary gland infection) that went away with antibiotics... but now the pain & soreness have returned. My doc says that this will go on for a month at least - she recommended a mammography (which I already had done - nothing to worry about) and told me to avoid straining or hitting the area, and bras that are too tight. I did all that but it's still uncomfortable or even painful sometimes.... anyone else dealt with this in the past? Anything I can do to alleviate the pain? (I wear size E cups, BTW... that's not helping either, I have to wear a sports bra all the time because otherwise the weight alone is painful).

Ouch...
You can take over the counter pain pills...here it's acetaminophen, and use a heating pad...

[shezbut]

I think that the heating pad might help a lot. Mastitis, you need antibiotics. I got it when I was new to nursing & my daughter was a few weeks old. I recall using a breast pump on the one breast that was affected by the infection. I also got put on antibiotics that very day and within a couple of days, I was all better and nursing with both breasts again.

Are both of your breasts affected? Are your breasts engorged? Hot to the touch?

I didn't know that it was possible to have mastitis without baby involvement. Hmmm ~ I do also recall developing a hard and sore breast (in a couple of spots) when my youngest daughter was 3 or 4 years old, so it had been 2 or 3 years since I'd stopped nursing. It bothered me for a while. I got an x-ray, followed by a mammogram. The mammogram squeezed so hard, the areas of dried milk(?) were crushed & the hardness disappeared. Weird!

(((hugs))) Hope that you find some relief to end your discomfort very soon!